Indians starter Carlos Carrasco hasn’t pitched since August 3 due to elbow inflammation. But Nick Collias of MLBTR just passed along a report from Venezuelan newspaper Líder de Deportes which suggests that it’s worse than that. It’s kind of hearsay, but a friend of Carrasco’s tells reporter Carlos Alberto Zambrano that TJ surgery is in the works:

“Carlos called me yesterday and told me that it seems they’re going to perform Tommy John [surgery] on him.”

Carrasco, 24, has a 4.55 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 85/40 K/BB ratio over 21 starts this season. He also has a suspension hanging over his head for throwing at Billy Butler on July 29, but if this news is accurate that’s looking like it won’t be served until 2013 at the earliest.